This source cluster upgrades three D11 leads from the prior investigation.
First, Orton Academy is now supported by direct D11 application, DAC review, presentation, conditional approval, final charter contract, waiver, accountability, and related board-resolution records. The strongest relationship is D11 -> Orton Academy, charter administrative / oversight role, 2023-2029, direct evidence.
Second, District 49 v. Sullivan is now supported by D11-side board records and court records. The amended complaint adds D11 as a plaintiff; D11's Nov. 19, 2025 special-board minutes show an executive session for legal advice on a litigation update regarding the Colorado Civil Rights Division and CHSAA; and D11's Dec. 3, 2025 minutes approve a CHSAA settlement agreement 7-0. This does not identify CHSAA letter signers or legal invoices.
Third, Colorado SOS lobbying exports now directly support Amy Attwood / Attwood Public Affairs as D11's active registered lobbyist-client relationship beginning 2024-02-14. Those same exports also show Attwood's active clients include D20, D49, and ERBOCES. Xiphos / Ross Izard is a separate active lobbying node with ERBOCES and school-choice, private-school, charter, and education-advocacy clients. The captured SOS files do not show D11 as a Xiphos client and did not return a Parents Challenge match in current / five-year Xiphos client or income checks.
D11's Nov. 29, 2023 Resolution 2024-16 says the district received Orton's charter application on Aug. 31, 2023; scheduled a public hearing and work session; and conditionally approved Orton subject to final contract terms. The resolution required successful performance-based contract negotiations addressing assessment requirements, requested waivers, ESSA requirements, accreditation, and other conditions.
D11's Apr. 17, 2024 Resolution 2024-29 approved Charter School Contract C2024-0069. The contract runs from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2029. The contract package includes sections and attachments on annual performance review, waivers, transportation, food services, policy waiver procedures, school governance, and D11's charter-school framework.
The Orton contract matters to the user's hypothesis bucket because it creates a direct district-authorizer mechanism. Possible flows are public funding, student enrollment, statutory authority, accountability oversight, waiver authority, and service responsibility. The observable effect is D11 authorization and oversight of a charter school that previously appeared in ERBOCES / CLLC litigation about operating inside D11 boundaries without D11 consent.
Claim limit: the contract and board records do not prove corruption, hidden coordination, or Brad Miller personal involvement in the D11 contract. They also do not by themselves show whether Orton's later D11 website listing as a Fall 2026 Trailblazer-campus opening reflects a campus move, program timing, implementation delay, or a district webpage framing issue.
The Jun. 12, 2024 D11 board material for a CASB resolution describes ERBOCES operating brick-and-mortar schools without local board consent as a local-control and accountability problem. It specifically says ERBOCES contracted with Colorado Literacy and Learning Center to operate Orton Academy inside D11 and that D11 counterclaimed seeking a declaration that ERBOCES and CLLC needed D11 permission.
This supports a direct D11 institutional position on BOCES authorization boundaries. It also preserves a mechanism: local-district consent as the authority gate for a BOCES school operating inside a nonmember district. Claim limit: the CASB resolution is D11-side advocacy material and should be paired with court records for the procedural history and legal holding.
The retained Clearinghouse docket and amended complaint show D11 became a plaintiff in District 49 v. Sullivan by the July 22, 2025 amended complaint. The original May 9, 2025 complaint was D49-only. Both the original and amended complaint counsel blocks identify First & Fourteenth counsel, not Miller Farmer Carlson.
D11's Nov. 19, 2025 special-board minutes record a 20-minute executive-session topic for legal advice on a Litigation update regarding Colorado Civil Rights Division and Colorado High School Activities Association. Jill Haffley moved to enter executive session, Sandra Bankes seconded, and the motion carried 6-1, with Julie Ott voting no.
D11's Dec. 3, 2025 agenda and minutes record a CHSAA settlement-agreement action item related to district involvement in D49 v. Sullivan. The Dec. 3 minutes say Public Litigator Chris Murray presented the settlement agreement, the settlement was not official until fully executed by all parties including CHSAA, and Amanda Huber moved approval with Sandra Bankes seconding. All seven members then present voted aye.
Relationship typing:
District 49 v. Sullivan: litigation / policy coalition relationship, 2025-2026, direct evidence for D11 plaintiff status and board settlement approval.2025-2026, direct court and board evidence.Claim limit: no CHSAA signer list was captured; no legal invoices or First & Fourteenth engagement letter were found in D11 board-portal searches; and the Nov. 19 executive-session notice is a litigation update / settlement-presentation record, not proof of the initial authorization to join the lawsuit.
Colorado SOS lobbying exports identify Amy Attwood / Attwood Public Affairs as a current professional lobbyist and identify Colorado Springs School District 11 as an active current client beginning 2024-02-14. The same current client directory lists Academy School District 20, Education reEnvisioned BOCES, and School District 49 as active Attwood clients. The current income file shows recurring monthly income from D11 in fiscal year 2025-2026, including multiple $3,479.17 rows and an August 2025 $6,958.34 row. D11 board materials also preserve a Jun. 4, 2025 Attwood Public Affairs end-of-session report and a Feb. 4, 2026 board legislative update presented by Amy Attwood.
The five-year client positions file shows D11, through Attwood, opposing HB25-1312 Legal Protections for Transgender Individuals from Apr. 23, 2025 to Jun. 30, 2025, supporting HB25-1320 School Finance Act, and supporting HB24-1448 New Public School Finance Formula. Current 2026 rows show D11 monitoring HB26-1050 and SB26-023.
Ross Izard / Xiphos Strategies is listed in the current professional lobbyist directory. Current client rows list Xiphos / Izard clients including ACE Scholarships, Colorado Association of Private Schools, Colorado Catholic Conference, Colorado Homeschool Enrichment, Education Alliance of Colorado, Education reEnvisioned BOCES, FASTER Colorado, Independence Institute, Liberty Tree Academy, Mile High United Way, and State Policy Network. Current and five-year bill-position rows place Xiphos clients on issues including scholarship granting organizations, BOCES definition, charter-school involvement in local ballot questions, public-school accountability, parent-requested school reforms, special education services in charter schools, funding for educational opportunities, and collective bargaining.
Relationship typing:
2024-present, direct SOS and D11 board evidence.Claim limit: shared lobbyist clients do not prove coordination, control, sponsorship, intent, or policy causation. Xiphos' client roster is a network lead, not a D11 relationship unless a D11 contract, invoice, lobbyist filing, email, board record, or other direct source is later captured.
| source node | target node | tie type | time range | mechanism | possible flow | observable effect | evidence strength | claim limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D11 | Orton Academy | charter oversight role | 2023-2029 | application review, conditional approval, charter contract, waivers, APR framework | authority, funding, students, accountability, waiver authority | D11 approved and contracted with Orton under C2024-0069 | direct | Does not prove hidden coordination or Brad Miller personal involvement |
| Orton Academy | D11 | charter application / transfer request | 2023 | application and presentation packet | authorization request, governance transfer | public hearing, DAC review, work session, conditional approval | direct | Application quality and implementation require deeper attachment review |
| D11 | ERBOCES / CLLC / Orton | litigation and local-control dispute | 2020-2024 | counterclaim, appeal, CASB resolution | legal authority, local consent | D11 advocated that BOCES schools need local-district consent | direct | CASB resolution is D11-side advocacy; pair with court records |
| D11 | District 49 v. Sullivan plaintiffs |
litigation / policy coalition relationship | 2025-2026 | amended complaint and board settlement action | legal pressure, policy legitimacy, litigation risk | D11 plaintiff status and settlement approval | direct | Initial D11 authorization and signer list remain missing |
| First & Fourteenth | D11 / plaintiffs | litigation / legal counsel relationship | 2025-2026 | complaint counsel block and board agenda/minutes | legal representation | court filings and D11 board presentation | direct | Does not make Miller Farmer or Brad Miller D11 counsel |
| D11 board | CHSAA settlement | board authorization / settlement approval | 2025-12-03 | settlement-agreement action item | release / settlement terms | settlement approved 7-0, subject to execution | direct | Terms and fully executed agreement not captured |
| D11 board | CHSAA / Civil Rights Division litigation update | executive-session legal advice | 2025-11-19 | executive session under C.R.S. 24-6-402(4)(b) | legal advice / litigation risk | 20-minute litigation-update topic; motion carried 6-1 | direct | Not proof of initial lawsuit authorization |
| D11 | Amy Attwood / Attwood Public Affairs | lobbyist / legislative liaison relationship | 2024-present | SOS client registration, income rows, board updates | legislative advocacy, public-affairs advice | active D11 client, D11 board legislative updates | direct | Contract, scope, and invoices beyond SOS income remain incomplete |
| Amy Attwood | D11 / D20 / D49 / ERBOCES | shared lobbyist client network | 2024-present for D11; older for others | registered client roster | access, legislative monitoring, policy advocacy | multiple education-government clients in same regional network | direct | Shared lobbyist does not prove coordination |
| Xiphos / Ross Izard | ERBOCES and school-choice / private-school / charter-adjacent clients | advocacy affiliation / lobbying client network | 2020-2026 | SOS lobbyist and client records | legislative advocacy, issue monitoring | current clients and bill-position rows | direct | No direct D11 client or Parents Challenge match found in captured SOS files |
| D11 | Xiphos | unresolved adjacency | no direct record found | negative board-portal and SOS check | unknown | no direct D11-Xiphos relationship surfaced | unresolved | Historical, invoice, email, or contract records could change this |